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Manitou Single Crown forks

stoney

stoney

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde
Jul 26, 2006
21,588
7,234
Colorado
I know nothing about these forks, but I am helping a buddy buy a used fork to replace his RST POS. The cheapest used forks are all Manitou, so we are looking at the Skareb, Six, Minute, and R7. He's got a trail HT, and just wants a simple fork that will last.
I had good experiences with a used Minute I got for my Dad, and want to go this way. Just trying to figure out where in the line-up the R7, Six, and Skareb fall, and what their performance level is.
thanks
 
stoney

stoney

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde
Jul 26, 2006
21,588
7,234
Colorado
I am working with a $75 budget (he's seriously cash strapped), and I already gave him an entire XT/XTR part kit I had in my storage unit. So I can't drop any more cash into getting his bike up to speed.
 
Mr Jones

Mr Jones

Turbo Monkey
Nov 12, 2007
1,475
0
I had a Manitou Minute on my rock hopper for about 2 years. Loved it. Never leaked and was super plush. Only thing it needed was a lock out and it woulda been a perfect fork. Sadly, it was stolen last year.
 
MtnbikeMike

MtnbikeMike

Turbo Monkey
Mar 6, 2004
2,637
1
The 909
The Skareb was their old XC race platform, which was replaced by the R7 line. The SIX is a budget fork line; a lot of those were OEM forks, although there were some nicer ones that were sold aftermarket, iirc.
 
HAB

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,580
2,006
Seattle
MtnbikeMike said:
The Skareb was their old XC race platform, which was replaced by the R7 line. The SIX is a budget fork line; a lot of those were OEM forks, although there were some nicer ones that were sold aftermarket, iirc.
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The Skareb wasn't bad, a little flexy, but the TPC damper was good. I've got one on my XC bike that's 6? years old and still working fine. Just don't get one of the SPV ones, those suck ass. The R7 isn't that different, just a little stiffer.
 
stoney

stoney

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde
Jul 26, 2006
21,588
7,234
Colorado
Shockingly no. Do you have one that works floating around the shop?
 
sanjuro

sanjuro

Tube Smuggler
Sep 13, 2004
17,373
0
SF
No, because I would grab it up for a cheapo hardtail I'm building.

I guess that answers why there are no cheap Marzocchis.
 
Ithnu

Ithnu

Monkey
Jul 16, 2007
961
0
Denver
I had a Skareb years ago. I broke the 1st one on the 1st ride, crown arch snapped in 2. The 2nd one's valving froze after a few months. The 3rd one lasted for 3 years with no maintenance and I sold it with the bike.

Hit and miss with those old Manitous.
 
Mr Jones

Mr Jones

Turbo Monkey
Nov 12, 2007
1,475
0
mattmatt86 said:
I had a nixon with TPC and it wasn't a horrible fork.
Click to expand...
My riding buddy has 05 nixon super 145mm with the black stanchions. Aside from a bit of stiction, it's solid. Stiction actually works to his advantage. When he climbs, the fork doesn't move much. But when he decends, it seems to soak up all the bumps.
 
norbar

norbar

KESSLER PROBLEM. Just cause
Jun 7, 2007
11,362
1,598
Warsaw :/
Their build quality pisses me off because TPC is such a great damper. My father still uses his X-Vert and it feels really nice.
 
dump

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,208
4,456
I've had good luck w/ the 2 different minutes. Currently on one. Inexpensive, functional.
 
reflux

reflux

Turbo Monkey
Mar 18, 2002
4,617
2
G14 Classified
damn...

I have a 2002 Vanilla 125 with a snapped dropout that I'm looking to unload. Rumor has it that it should be cheap to replace. Is the ebay sale final?
 
stoney

stoney

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde
Jul 26, 2006
21,588
7,234
Colorado
So I just got the fork today and went to install it. Beyond the steerer tube being 1/4" shorter than he advertised (which is not too much of a problem), the top brake hole was stripped, and when I fully compress the fork, it makes a clunk and rebounds super slow. When I stay at the top of the travel, it feels perfect and doesn't make any noises.

Any ideas on what would make a heavy clunking noise at full travel, causing slow rebound, but otherwise feel great?

I am very close to negative repping this guy, and having my credit card company go after him for a fraudulent sale (yeah for working at the bank that issues your card!).

I can fix the top hole with a helicoil, but if the internals are legitimately f*ed up, I'll nail this guy to a wall.

thanks.
 
dump

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,208
4,456
The Joker said:
So I just got the fork today and went to install it. Beyond the steerer tube being 1/4" shorter than he advertised (which is not too much of a problem), the top brake hole was stripped, and when I fully compress the fork, it makes a clunk and rebounds super slow. When I stay at the top of the travel, it feels perfect and doesn't make any noises.

Any ideas on what would make a heavy clunking noise at full travel, causing slow rebound, but otherwise feel great?

I am very close to negative repping this guy, and having my credit card company go after him for a fraudulent sale (yeah for working at the bank that issues your card!).

I can fix the top hole with a helicoil, but if the internals are legitimately f*ed up, I'll nail this guy to a wall.

thanks.
Click to expand...
Was the top hole stripped or did you strip it when installing the bolt? It requires short bolts or spacers as the depth is pretty short. I foolishly did the latter to mine but sold it to Manimal who fixed it no problem. His son is still rocking it some 3 years later.

As for the clunk, no idea.
 
MMcG

MMcG

Ride till you puke!
Dec 10, 2002
15,457
12
Burlington, Connecticut
I've had good luck with my Manitou Minutes and I've currently got two Nixons and they work fine too. Both Nixons were bought used for under $100 and both are working great (but then again I don't ride a ton so take my comments for what they are).
 
stoney

stoney

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde
Jul 26, 2006
21,588
7,234
Colorado
Mattmatt - Only if I have to.
Steve - Yes. I will rip his face off for sending me ishtty parts.
Dump - it was stripped already, no threads came out and it never gave, just spun.
HAB - Not sure... I only run Fox, so I'm trying to figure out how to set this thing up too.
 
HAB

HAB

Chelsea from Seattle
Apr 28, 2007
11,580
2,006
Seattle
The Joker said:
HAB - Not sure... I only run Fox, so I'm trying to figure out how to set this thing up too.
Click to expand...
I'm calling user error until you check up on that. The damping on those things is fvcked if you're not running adequate pressure. Put at least 75psi in there.
 
N

north20

Chimp
Nov 5, 2007
85
0
East Cascades - PNW
Was surprised to still see this thread still going, so thought I'd take a look ...

If you still need a fork (while you get your cash back from the bonehead seller of the other one), I've got a near new Manitou Black Platinum (120mm travel) that's been sitting in a parts closet for about 2 years. Nothing special about it, and it has SPV (SPV is fine when you get a working one - and this one was from what I know), but it was working when I took it off a friend's bike I rebuilt with better parts.

Just a hair under 7.5 inches steerer tube length, star nut installed. Anyway, I'd happily send it along for the price of shipping. Beats having it sit around unused in one of my gear/parts stashes.
 
stoney

stoney

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde
Jul 26, 2006
21,588
7,234
Colorado
Have been busy... 4am-6pm since Monday, then going home and sleeping. Hopefully I can tonight, but I'm probably going to be here until 6-7pm tonight...

North20, I might take you up on that, but still pay for it (market value). Thank you for the offer.
 
dump

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,208
4,456
The Joker said:
Have been busy... 4am-6pm since Monday, then going home and sleeping. Hopefully I can tonight, but I'm probably going to be here until 6-7pm tonight...

North20, I might take you up on that, but still pay for it (market value). Thank you for the offer.
Click to expand...
Did you ping Manimal about the stripped bolt fix?
 
stoney

stoney

Part of the unwashed, middle-American horde
Jul 26, 2006
21,588
7,234
Colorado
HAB said:
Well?
Click to expand...
Had a chance to look into it more. The damper is blown, and the rebound is stripped internally. I contacted the seller about returning it, and he effectively told me to f* off, no returns. So... I'm going to rip his f'ing face off. Complaint filed with eBay, in heavy detail. We'll see where it goes from here.
 
dump

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,208
4,456
The Joker said:
Had a chance to look into it more. The damper is blown, and the rebound is stripped internally. I contacted the seller about returning it, and he effectively told me to f* off, no returns. So... I'm going to rip his f'ing face off. Complaint filed with eBay, in heavy detail. We'll see where it goes from here.
Click to expand...
That sucks man... sounds like he sold you a completely beat fork! On top of it, he sounds like a jerk.
 
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